Hitting the Line
by Nikota
Summary: Danielle,a saxophonist, is in for a big surprise her freshman year as she realizes she has joined a band with some really odd instumentalists and finds out that she is bound to become best friends with them.
1. The begining of prebandcamp

Danielle walked through the back door of the band room not knowing what to expect. It was her freshman year and her first year marching with the Stewart County Marching Rebel Band. She carried her alto saxophone she had played since her sixth grade year and her lunch. They were required to bring their lunch unless they could miracualsly make it to McDonalds and back in the alloted half hour. It took that much time to get there and back and Danielle didn't know any of the band members who could drive. She didn't know anyone outside of the freshman from Dover Elementry and the select few she remembed from her seventh grade year.

As she walked into the room she didn't expect the mass of noise that seemed to hit her in the face. Everyone was either warming up or trying to talk over the noise at the same time. After getting over the initial shock and walking around the percusion players who were almost backed up against the door and walked over to the right side of the room that was alloted to Music History and General Music. She didn't trust her case in the middle of the fiasco that was supposed to be her section.  
She knew Kayla, she was an eigth grader who would be starting her first year with the marching band same as her but wasn't in high school yet. She had been recruted because there wouldn't have been enough saxophones other wise, not that she thought you could have to many saxophones. Kayla was an odd one to say the least. You could never guess what would come out of her mouth and your best bet was to nodd and act as if you knew exactly what she was talking about.  
She also knew Matt. Matt was a character too, an annoying one. He was an idiot and luckily Jordan Perry, another eighth grade saxophonist her seventh grade year, was able to lead them two years ago. Jordan wouldn't be showing up for marching from what she had heard. He was a football player and only played concert. That wasn't the only thing she had heard about him but she would have to wait until concert band to find out if it was all true.  
The only other alto saxophonist was Jonathan whom she first assumed was her section leader. Jonathan was the definition of egotistical. She had only met him at a previous concert and had already made and opinion. Unfortuanatly for him it wasn't a great one. She could only assume he had been droped on his head while young because there wasn't much else that could explain, well...him. Loud and abnoxious were light words in comarison. She could hear his voice singuraly over everyone else. She could already tell that she wasn't going to get along with him or Matt.

She carfully side steped Jonathan's case in the middle of the floor and the music stands with odd clips and music on them and carefully found her seat between Kayla and Matt. Well at least she wasn't last chair. She could deal with third chair...for now. She wasn't ambisious or anything she just didn't like people thinking she was any worse than she really was and she already knew she was better than Matt. Not Jonathan, not yet, but definately Matt.  
As she sat down she saw the band director, Mrs. Shepherd, step out of her office. She had just had a babby in the spring and the stress was definately showing. As she stepped onto the small podeum everyone became quiet. Danielle thanked the director silently for showing up because she wouldn't have been able to take much more of the noise. The director then told them that they should,"leave your instruments in the band room for now we'll be marching first before lunch and you won't need them yet"  
Great. That's exactly what she wanted to do. Leave her saxophone lying in her chair for one of her brilliant section mates to gracefully knock it off. Well its better than the floor. So she laid the saxophone down after the altos and trumpets had left the row and side stepped to the next row. As she got the end of the clarinet row she heard Christy, a sophmore tenor saxophonist she already knew really well, yell,"Hey Danielle! Don't leave your saxophone lying on its keys. They'll get bent!" Danielle didn't really know what she was talking about but she swung around the last chair of the clarinet row and climbed to the middle of her row to fix her saxophone lying on her chair. She then walked with Christy out the door towards the gym as she explained that,"By leaving your saxophone on its keys they'll bend and cause air leaks." Great she had already made a mistake and she wasn't even marching yet. Danielle shook it off and followed all the other band members out the band hall doors and into the luchroom which was just big enough to use for the freshman and the coulple of the returning band members. Welcome to freshman marchers pre-bandcamp. 


	2. Marching begins

Daielle walked into the lunch room knowing little of what she was supposed to do. The couple of people who were already in there were grouped up in the center of the room. She took this as here cue to stand by the wall and see who else would join her. She was soon joined be Kayla who was new also and was probably on the same brain wave as she was, stay out of the way until something happens. Good plan. 

Jamie, a trumpet player with some interesting mood swings was next to join. Jamie was harder to predict than Kayla. You would litteraly have to have mood radar to predict what this chick was going to throw at you. It was a good bet that she was in a good mood because other wise she would be in a corner with enough sence not to bother Danielle.

So they stood there keaping an eye on everyone else and mingled telling about their summers. The conversation consisting of Kayla starting with,"So, what did you do over the summer?" and Jamie and Daielle's answers of "I read." The one thing and only thing they had in comon.Books. Jamie's list of books was just a little more restricted than Daielle's hers mostly consisting of Vampire novels and Danielle's a list of what ever she could get her hands which meant romance novels. So her mind went to mush over the summer. There's no shame in that.

Danielle, trying to keep the conversation going asked,"So how much of the music do you have memorized?" 

Notice that she didn't ask if they memorized their music because she hadn't and did expect them to have either. The music wasn't hard, she just hadn't started but two weeks before camp and only then did she just look at it. She had most of the first song and parts of the second. She doubted if she would ever have the third song memorized. Ok she'd pick up the pace. Now would probably be a good time.

Kayla answered with the obvious, "I haven't memorized any of it. I guess I should probably get it done before we leave for band camp."

Danielle responded with an eye roll and,"Yah, think?"

Jamie looked over and said,"I have some of the first song memorized. It shouldn't take much to get the rest of it done." looking at Kayla adding,"I'll definately have it done by band camp"

Danielle looked at Kayla saying,"You better have it done by band camp. I'm not picking up the slack. I'm barely holding my own head above water. Don't use me as your floaty."

As Danielle said this Mrs. Shepherd walked in proceding to yell,"Ok, I want everyone in fundamental block!" 

Lady with the loud voice say what?

Luckily Mrs. Shepherd had the decency to explain that,"Flutes and Clarinets to the front!"

Ok, thats not alot of help but it would probably be a good idea if I made my way towards the center.

As Danielle found her way to the center of the room Mrs. Shepherd lined up the members of the band by expericed marchers on the out side of every freshman. The first guy was an extreamly tall guy followed by a girl Danielle knew by the name of Courtney followed by another girl she didn't know and so on. Next Mrs. Shepherd pulled a girl, Mika, to stand behind the tall guy then lined up the altos and so on. Daniells stood next to Mika and looked around. The band wasn't all that big but compated to the seventh and eighth graders last year it had tripled in size. After ligning everyone in a block with the color guard in the back Mrs. Shepherd yelled,"Ok, I want a volenteer to demenstrate Attention." 

Right...this woman is speaking a forign language. Better nod your head and play along.

"David, would you mind showing everyone their Attention?" David, the really tall guy, not to mention the only guy, steped out of line to stand in front facing them. 

Mrs. Shepherd then yelled "Band ten-hut" 

David answering with,"One!" and putting his arms to his sides in fists, feet together, head up, and not moving. Not to even blink.

Ok, I can do that.

We just stood there and stared. What else were we to do?

Mrs. Shepherd then said the magical words,"Ok, you can relax", and the statue let his arms down and moved back in line. "Ok band when I yell Ten-Hut! You snap to attention. Any questions?" 

Everyone just continued to stare. The directions seemed easy enough. Dainelle just hoped they wouldn't be left there to long. She had a good idea that was the point though.

Mrs. Shepherd then whiped out an old pair of sticks clicking them and yelled,"Band Ten-Hut!" Danielle did her best to mimick the gut before into position. 

"ok, section leaders, take a look at your section and corect them if they are wrong." Jonathan made his way down the line adjusting arms ending with her. He took her arms, lowered them further down on her hips and left. Darn another mistake. That must be the name of the game today. Danielle stood still until the beautiful words,"You may relax!" came out of the directors mouth.

Mrs. Shepherd then followed with,"I need a volunteer to demonstrate how to prep." She didn't actualy take volunteers she just called some random names out of the block who were experienced marchers. They then showed them how to pop their knees out. Danielle just thought, ok, so were in a forign language class. I can handle this so far. She knew it wasn't going to get any easier. It was going to be a whole lot worse than walking and chewing bubble gum at the same time. Over the next hour they learned Attention, Prep, marching forward, and about face. 

It was going great until Mrs. Shepherd marched them into the luch tables lined up against the wall, but Dainelle didn't have a problem with that since she wasn't in the front row. All she had to do was make shure she was in line with the girl in front and to the right of her.

The only thing Danielle really had to wory about was keeping her toes up. That and not looking at the ground. Not that she personally had been yelled about it yet, it was the whole over all band that Mrs. Shepherd kept warning but Danielle knew she was one of the ones who kept looking at the blue tyles as if they held a map to Atlantas. She's have to find something more interseting to look at. Like the tall guy's hair. That would last a while. David had dark brown hair that reached past his collar. It was parted to the side making Danielle wander how he was able to use his, periphereal vision, another foreign word, to see. He seemed to be doing alright. Better than the girl,Mika, that she was trying to guide to. She kept correcting herself after they had stoped and relaxed again. This was going to get annoying quick.

After having been taught to stop and go forward they were dismissed to lunch. 


End file.
